Wolf Watch

All School

Construction Notice: Fondren Road/South Piney Point Road
The City of Houston has begun repair work on the sanitation line between Fondren Road and South Piney Point Road. For details, please review the email we sent on November 18.

Let’s Make It a White Out! First Boys Basketball Home Games Are This Tuesday
Hey, Wolf Pack—save the date! St. Francis’s JV and Varsity Boys Basketball teams’ first home games are this Tuesday, November 28, against Episcopal High School in the Crum Gym. Let’s Back the Pack and make it a White Out!

JV Boys Basketball Game: 5:30 p.m.
Varsity Boys Basketball Game: 7:00 p.m.

Bookopoly Book Fair: Join Us This Wednesday and Thursday
Join us at the Bookopoly Book Fair this Wednesday, November 29, and Thursday, November 30!

WHEN WILL MY STUDENT VISIT THE BOOK FAIR?
All students in grades K–8 will have a designated time to visit the Book Fair on November 29 or 30. Parents, grandparents, and special friends are invited to come shop with their student during their designated Book Fair time.

Lower School Schedule to Visit Book Fair (by Class)
Middle School Schedule to Visit Book Fair (by Class) (Middle School students will visit with their English class.)

The Book Fair will also be open on November 29 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. and on November 30 from 7:00 to 8:30 a.m. We encourage our families with Primary School students to plan on visiting during these times.

WHAT FORMS OF PAYMENT ARE ACCEPTED?
Books may be purchased with eWallet funds, credit cards, or cash. Create an eWallet for your student to make shopping easy.

HOW CAN I DONATE TO CLASSROOM LIBRARIES?
If you would like to donate funds for classroom libraries, the eWallet links for teachers are listed here.

HOW ARE BOOK FAIR PROCEEDS USED?
All proceeds from the Book Fair will be used to purchase new books for the library collection, which will help us continue to build a community of strong and joyful readers.

We thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you this week in the library!

Last Chance to Purchase Holiday Poinsettias
LAST CHANCE! Support the fine arts at St. Francis and Friends of Fine Arts by purchasing beautiful holiday poinsettias grown by The Brookwood Community. Order yours today, then plan to pick them up in the afternoon this Thursday, November 30, or in the morning or afternoon this Friday, December 1, on Couper Campus. Click here for details and to purchase your poinsettias today!

Help Make Christmas Merry and Bright for Our St. Francis Teachers and Staff!
The St. Francis Parents Organization (SFPO) invites you to contribute to this year’s SFPO Christmas Gift Fund as a way to show your appreciation to all those who teach, support, and love your children at St. Francis. Please make your contribution by this Friday, December 1.

This program has been very successful over the years due to the generosity of our parent community. Giving to the fund is the very best way to show your appreciation for the faculty and staff of St. Francis. A cash gift is at the top of every employee’s Christmas wish list!
As a reminder, the School Handbook asks that parents do not organize additional class gifts. The SFPO Christmas Gift Fund is distributed evenly to all employees, including teachers, staff, sextons, Dining Hall personnel, full-time security officers, and full- and part-time coaches.
To make a contribution, please click here.

New Explore and Extend Registration Portal Launches December 4
Beginning Monday, December 4, we will launch an exclusive registration portal for all things Explore and Extend and School of Music. The new portal will facilitate registration for the following:

Explore and Extend After-School Care
Daily Drop-ins to Explore and Extend
Enrichment Classes for Spring and Fall
School of Music Lessons for Spring and Fall
Summer on the Point Camps
Parents’ Night Out Events

Stay tuned for more details!

Spring Enrichment Classes: Registration Opens December 13
Mark your calendar! Registration for Explore and Extend Spring 2024 enrichment classes will launch on Wednesday, December 13, at 10:00 a.m. Click here for a sneak peak at the class list! The full schedule of classes will also be posted next week on the Explore & Extend web page.

Please note the following changes to Explore and Extend, beginning this spring:

The enrichment-class schedule on Piney Point Campus will include two time frames—classes that begin at 2:45 p.m. and classes that begin at 3:45 p.m. The new schedule provides more choices for students who dismiss earlier in the afternoon and opens more spots for students at 3:45 p.m.
On Couper Campus, we will be adding enrichment classes for our Pre-Primary students.
Beginning January 1, 2024, Explore and Extend drop-in rates will be as follows:
- $35 per day until 4:30 p.m.
- $35 per day from enrichment-class dismissal until 6:00 p.m.
- $50 per day until 6:00 p.m.
We will be offering Homework Club for our Lower School students between dismissal and 4:00 p.m. More details to come!

Primary School

A Note About Gratitude From Fr. Wismer
I hope that your Thanksgiving holiday was filled with good things for which to give thanks—connecting with friends and family, enjoying the great outdoors, and gathering around the table for the Thanksgiving feast.

Every month, our St. Francis students focus on a new virtue. The virtue for November is gratitude. Being grateful is a discipline that blesses us. When we wake in the morning, or in the night, the first things to come to mind are often the things that cause us anxiety, or worry, or frustration. Usually, we can make a pretty long list.

But we need to develop a discipline of remembering all the good things in our lives and of giving thanks for them. It takes a conscious effort. But when we begin to make the list of the blessings in our life, the list gets very long, indeed.

Since we have been celebrating Native American Indian Heritage Month, here is a wonderful parable that I have always loved:

A young Cherokee boy was struggling to do the right thing, but wasn’t always successful. He wanted to do right, but was often getting into trouble for doing what wasn’t right. He was churned up inside over this, and didn’t know what to do.

One evening, he went to his grandfather, an elder in the Cherokee Nation, and shared with him his dilemma.

His grandfather paused and pondered this for a moment. He then told his grandson that a battle goes on inside of everyone.

“My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all,” he said. “They are in a ferocious fight. One is a bad wolf. It symbolizes the anger, jealousy, envy, hatred, greed, and arrogance in our hearts.

“The other wolf is the good wolf. It symbolizes the good in our hearts—the love, faith, hope, joy, peace, humility, kindness, generosity, and compassion.”

The grandson’s eyes got wide with anxiety.

“Which wolf wins?” he asked his grandfather.

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

The discipline of gratitude is one of the things that feeds the good wolf best. So let’s develop the habit of saying thanks for all our blessings, and of allowing a spirit of gratitude to guide our thoughts and actions, our steps and choices.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. —Psalm 136:1

Gratefully,

Fr. Bob Wismer
Senior Chaplain

Mark Your Calendar

Monday, November 27

Open Library: 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 28

Chapel: Primary II parents may attend

Wednesday, November 29

Chapel: Primary I parents may attend
Book Fair in Crum Library (Piney Point Campus): Primary School families are encouraged to visit from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 30

Book Fair in Crum Library (Piney Point Campus): Primary School families are encouraged to visit from 7:00 to 8:30 a.m.

Monday, December 4

Open Library: 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 5

Chapel: Primary II parents may attend

Wednesday, December 6

Chapel: Primary I parents may attend

Monday, December 11

Open Library: 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 12

Chapel: Primary II parents may attend

Wednesday, December 13

Chapel: Primary I parents may attend

Monday, December 18

Primary I Christmas Parties: 1:30 p.m.
Open Library: 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 19

Primary II Nativities and Parties
- 9:00 a.m.—Hughes
- 10:00 a.m.—Wiener
- 12:00 p.m.—Capasso
- 1:00 p.m.—Owens

Wednesday, December 20

Primary I and Primary II Lessons and Carols Chapel: No parents in Chapel—students only
Pre-Primary Christmas Parties: 1:45 p.m.

Thursday, December 21

Early Dismissal at 11:00 a.m.
No Explore and Extend

Friday, December 22–Friday, January 5

Christmas Break: No school

Lower School